"I'M SURPRISED YOU DIDN'T want to go back to monaco," noah said over the phone. he was currently back in his hometown in minnesota spending a week with his family before flying to melbourne.

isabel shrugged, her hair blowing in the breeze. she was in a hotel in burleigh heads in queensland, soaking in the sun on the balcony. in the carpark below, carlos and charles were carrying surfboards as they headed down to the beach. "felt like spending time with my brother," she said, "i haven't seen him properly since january, and i had things to do in melbourne anyway."

"can't wait to see the trouble you three cause all over twitter," he said with a chuckle. "next break you should come home with me, though. my sister misses you."

willow nichols was noah's sixteen year old sister. she wasn't a fan of motorsports and instead had a love for gymnastics, which is why she adored isabel. last year after the united states grand prix, isabel travelled with noah to go meet his family during the break between races. his family were so kind and welcoming that, despite only knowing noah for half a year, it felt like another home. to her knowledge, willow begged noah to bring home isabel every time she saw him. it was heartwarming.

"we're in miami, what, in may?"

"yeah," noah said. "and then it's a few weeks off before spain."

"i'll come visit then," she promised. "just a few days, though; i don't like america," her tone was slightly joking although it was mostly the truth. and that's around round five-ish. i've apparently got to get my act together soon after that.

"perfect," she could hear the smile in his voice. "i gotta go, it's late, but i'll see you next week!"

"say hi to everyone for me," isabel could just see two figures with surfboards in the distance on the beach. watching her brother and best friend surf was free entertainment considering that she had taught them both and they were still trying get the hang of it. they weren't as bad as they were last year, but watching them wipeout was still comedic. "see you in melbourne."

"bye," noah quickly uttered before ending the call.

walking back inside into the air conditioned hotel room, isabel scrolled through her missed notifications from while she was on the call with noah. she skipped over the texts from tori and went straight to the message from carlos.

NOTIFICATION CENTRE —

(7m ago) IMESSAGE — CHILLI

we went down to the beach :)
you should come down!

(46m ago) IMESSAGE — TORI

flying to melb on tuesday
max is getting there on sunday — don't start shit before i get there <3

(1h ago) WHATSAPP — F1 2022

PIERRE GASLY: are there changes to albert park circuit?

DANIEL RICCIARDO: not that i know of mate. will check though

IMESSAGE —
CHILLI + TINKERBELLE

CHILLI
we went down to the beach :)
you should come down!

TINKERBELLE
on my way :)

x

THE MELBOURNE AIRPORT WAS more chaotic this time compared to when they had first landed in australia. many more fans lined the fenced off area as charles, isabel and carlos walked through it.

one fan stopped the three as they neared a separate exit of the airport. "i made you these!" the girl called out from behind the flagged fence. isabel reached out to her brother's wrist to pull him back towards her so that they could talk to the teenage girl.

as the three drivers got closer, she dropped a bracelet into each of their hands. "you guys are my favourite on the grid! good luck this weekend!"

"thank you!" isabel and carlos said whilst charles smiled and said, "grazie."

as they left the airport, isabel finally looked down at the bracelet in her hand among the bag of other small things she had been gifted along the way. the pattern was black, gold and white. in the centre was 'IL52' with a heart bead beside it. charles and carlos' were red, white and black with their initials and number in the middle like hers.

sliding it onto her wrist, she quickly caught up with the boys.

x

ISABEL STARED AT THE door. the white-painted wood was so bright it was blinding. her eyes burning holes into it wasn't enough; she wanted it to burst into flames and stop her from having to step inside.

swallowing her pride, she knocked on the door. the many bracelets she had on jingled like chimes. she counted to exactly nine seconds before the door opened.

max verstappen opened the door with his usual deadpan expression that he showed around her. she knew he was capable of smiling because she watched him use it around people like charles and daniel in the paddock.

a white towel was draped around his shoulders and water droplets dripped from his hair. shirtless and unhappy, he did not move out of the doorway.

"are you going to let me in?" she asked, suitcase parked by her side.

"i'd rather not," his words held an undertone of mocking yet he still moved to the side. isabel pulled her suitcase with her as she walked inside. he shut the door behind her and walked straight back into the bathroom. he surprisingly left that door open.

isabel walked over to the free bed that was closer to the balcony. surprisingly, the hotel room was decently clean. all max's belongings were either in his suitcase or on his bed, a stark contrast to how messy their hotel in jeddah had been. at least he's paying attention to the list, she shrugged.

after taking off her shoes, she flopped onto her bed stomach-first, hands supporting the sides of her head as she glanced into the bathroom. max had a black shirt thrown over his shoulder as he hung up his towel. "do you use that three-in-one shit?" she suddenly asked.

max's stormy eyes snapped to her. "what?" he asked, surprised by her question. he paused midway through removing the shirt from his shoulder.

"you know," isabel waved her hand in front of her. "you just seem like you do."

was that an insult? max thought, eyebrows furrowed. "i don't," he scoffed.

"hm, surprising," isabel muttered under her breath. "are you almost done with the bathroom?"

max only smirked and slammed the door, locking himself in the bathroom.

"bitch!" she exclaimed before groaning. ferrari was staying in a completely different hotel to the one she was in, meaning she couldn't go steal carlos or charles' shower. red bull, mclaren, alphatauri and mercedes were all in the same building, and isabel was considering messaging either lando or pierre and asking to use their shower. lamborghini wasn't even in the same hotel as her, which wasn't fair in the slightest.

"fuck it," she muttered and pulled out her phone.

IMESSAGE —
LANDO + ISABEL

ISABEL
i will love you for eternity
if you let me borrow your shower

LANDO
you already love me
for eternity
come over!

x

"YOU ARE A LIFESAVER," isabel gushed as she collapsed on top of lando's bed.

lando glanced up from his phone and grinned. "you do know he was just trying to piss you off, right?"

"uh huh," she nodded. "but i needed to shower and wasn't in the mood to deal with him."

shrugging, lando turned his phone off and set it beside him. "he's not a bad guy," he chose his words carefully. him and max were close friends and he therefore knew max wasn't a bad person, but there was just something that seemed to spark within him whenever isabel was nearby. that same spark appeared in her, too. it was hard because lando was so close to both of them, but even he couldn't work out what their problem was. "i think you guys are just too similar and that's why you clash."

isabel's eyebrows drew together. "i don't have anything in common with him."

lando hid his amusement. he knew max and isabel more than they did. they both were driven by determination and the need to prove themselves. their lives revolved around driving some of the fastest cars in the world. they were both passionate about the same sport. they both were filled with the same gasoline that kit that similar spark that they shared, and they let that spark burst into flames and control them. they both had dealt with adversities in their childhood that pushed them harder into the f1 world. max verstappen and isabel leclerc were more similar than they'd ever realise — but lando knew.

"if you're sure," he hid a smile and reached down over the side of the bed. he pulled his camera bag up and began to unzip it. "model for me? i'm practicing portrait photography." before she could say anything, he quickly added, "as payment for letting you use my shower."

"i was already going to say yes," she laughed.

x

INSTAGRAM — ISABEL.LECLERC and LANDO.JPG

isabel.leclerc: tinkerbelle ft. last lap lando

comments . . .

user1: omg this duo >>

user2: they're friends ??
↳ user1: they did karting together!!

charles_leclerc: they call him last lap lando

user3: she's so pretty it's such a shame
↳ isabel.leclerc: thanks for the compliment ?

landonorris: thanks for being my model! 😊
↳ isabel.leclerc: always <3

pierregasly: looking good belle!
↳ isabel.leclerc: 🥰
↳ user4: commented by pierre gasly

user5: im not even surprised shes flirting with all the guys
↳ user1: what flirting ?? shes said heaps of times that they're all like brothers to her 💀 they grew up together

user6: good luck in australia !!

user7: stick to modelling
↳ user8: agreed
↳ user9: this feels like a weird compliment

x

MEDIA DUTIES WERE THE absolute worst. paste on a fake smile and talk to people who mostly just want to try get you to slip up and say something you'll regret.

when it was all over, isabel and noah retreated back to the lamborghini section of the paddock.

"i'm expecting a p5 quali from you," isabel told noah with a smile as they collapsed on the couches in the lounge area. her tone was light and airy, not at all stern or demanding. "i know you're capable of it."

noah sighed. "that's a big ask. top 5 is normally you, the ferrari boys and either red bull or merc."

"you got a p4 last year, and that was your rookie year," isabel said. "whatever you get, i'm gonna be proud of you, but i know you can do it."

noah cracked a smile. "thanks, belle. but that means i want you to get pole."

isabel smiled back. "i'll go for pole if you go for p5."

noah held out his hand, "deal," his smile widened further. isabel chuckled as she reached her hand out to shake his. 

"deal."

x

MAX WAS ON HIS bed when she arrived back to their hotel room that night. one glance at him told her that he looked beyond stressed, like there was something eating away at him, but the second he caught sight of her, his expression morphed into something unreadable. 

the tv was on and playing an old race at the circuit that she recognised to be in singapore. "what year?" she asked suddenly, surprising herself as she walked into the bathroom to use the mirror. 

she hadn't expected an answer, either. "2018," he said, his eyes not moving from where they were locked on the tv. 

isabel nodded more to herself than anything. she kept her mouth shut and refrained from asking who had won that race and instead pulled her phone out of her pocket before she even reached for the makeup wipes she had put in the drawer. 

with a quick google search, isabel was glad she hadn't asked. max had finished p2 behind lewis hamilton, which meant that if she had asked, he probably would have lost his shit and been in a shitty mood . . . again.

once she had removed the minimal makeup she had applied for media duties, isabel walked back into the main room and got comfortable in her bed. she could see the tv perfectly since it was in the middle of the wall, so she decided to watch some of the race whilst playing subway surfers.

as soon as she clicked on the app and it loaded, the music began to loudly play, causing her to cringe. quickly, she turned her volume all the way down and glanced over at max. he was already looking at her. "sorry, accident," she apologised hastily before looking back at her phone. the poor excuse of a boundary list flashed through her mind.

max said nothing, instead remaining silent as his attention focused back on the singapore grand prix on screen.